Wing construction



Eek-19, 1935. v A. BAUER 1,991,651

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 7, 1931 OOOO Y- Feb. 19, 1935. A. BAUER WING CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 7, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR draws/jams Feb. 19, 1935. i A, BAUER WING CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct; 7, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v INVENTOR- 41 11 Jaue AngRNEY- Patented Feb. 19, 1935 OFFICE;

WING CONSTRUCYFION imam"; many... Y. i hpplicationp'ctober 1, 1931, Serial No. 567,412

' eclaims. o1.-.244 -{12) Thepresent invention 3 relates, generically, to a a. novel andimproved :wingr construction adapted tonconsiderably; enhance .theliiting powerof the craft; to which. it may be applied; as compared.

with the usual wing construction now "in .general use-on aircraftzanda-thelikei 1 1 More-specificall theinvention hasespecialree lation to such a, wing.,construction. particularly adapted to be used in connection with airplanes, 10, zeppelins, airplane pontoons, boats propellers, windmills,,andesimilarepparatus; V I

Theprirnary'object otthe-invention is the provision -.of.a-.nove1-1 andfimproyed .wing; construction capablegof being-substituted for: the conventional. ll.- formof wing construction nowiin useand adapted.

to. reatly enhance .the; lifting: power. of. the craft.

Arfurther obj ectzof the ,invention resides in theprovision 01; a wing, construction, asIQutIined above, adaptedto be i applied.-in.,principle.to' air- 8,; planes,- zeppelins.airplanepontoons, boatsand,

the. like without "radically modifying the. struc-. turethereof. 7 V r It. is. still. another-object of the .-pres'entlinven-.

tion-to. provide a 'new. form of. wing construction 3& which shallpreferablybemade upbtaplurality of small 1 winglike members orelements disposed andarrangediinranoveLrelationship, .whichlmay or.may.;not.be .variable. withres'pect. to the several components, and which. shall materially increase the lifting power as ,coniparedrwith the lifting power. of the usuaLairpla-neor. the likewing.

."Il'ieforegoing and othenobjectswhich will'be apparentito.those.skilled.in, the art to which ..the. present .invention pertains,fromlthe.v detailed de 3|; scription thereof hereinafter given, are attained by the; illustrative;embodiments of.. the. invens tion. hereinidisclos'e'd, consisting of] the; constructionend novel .combination and arrangement of parts afillly, described ,zbelovv illustrated onthe ac- 40: companyingesheetmofg drawings-,1,andpointedflout in the severalclaiinsz'hereuntdappended.Q

Onthesaid sheets oilldrawings, l 7 Fig.1 i'sla top. plan view of a. portion of an .airplane to whicha .wing .constructit )n= according .to 4 5 thepress'ent'invention hasbeenapplieda ll Fig. ,ZjisasectionalJview taken along line .2;-2 of: Fig, l', alternative. positions of; certain :ofLthe partslbeingjndic'atedby dotiandjdas'hlinesy, fi Fig. 3fi's' aitop planview offa.zeppelin;type of 50' aircraft, with the; present invention applied thereto;

. Eig..4 is: a.- sectional :view, taken along line. 4 -4 f Fig.1 6 isatop plan view of an airplane pontoon to whichthe present-invention has been applied; the connecting struts or braces being broken 01T;

Fig.7 is asectional view taken on line 7.'-77of1 Fig. 8is a front view.of the pontoon shown in Figs. 6 and7; e

Fig. 9 is apart elevational and a part sectional. view of thelowerportion. of a boat with the present invention appliedthereto; thesec- 10. tional view be ing along. line 9'.9 of Fig. .10; and.

Fig. 10. is an end view of .the construction shown injFig. 9. i

Corresponding reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral fig- 15. ures of the drawings. e 7

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be. seen that these illustrate the present inventionas ap-- plied to an airplane. A conventional fuselageis indicated at 10, and a conventional} propeller 20, at 11. The novel wing construction adapted, as is usualto extend from each. side of" fuselage 10; preferably, comprises a plurality oi spaced supporting struts or braces 12, shaped, as shown in-Fig. 2. Disposed between these struts 12and supported thereby are a plurality of sets of wings -or wing elements .13, 13,13, and 14, 14, 14, the

latter set being'superposed with respect to the former set. r These severalwings may be constructed in any desirable manner, within the scope of the present invention. For example, they mayinclude any conventional supporting truss. or beam construction; over which. maybe spread the usual fabric or' metallic covering. e The endwings 14 ofthe uppermost setof wings arel'preferably capable of pivotal movement to the positions shown in Fig.2,1asQwel1 as to intermediate positions. For this purpose, these wings are pivotally mounted as at 15 and 16, respectively, and a control cable 17 is;provided to enable these wings to be adjusted. Control cable 17, of

course, is operated from suitable manual or automatic mechanism easily accessible to the pilot of the craft. The number of-wingsmade movable inthis way may be varied, asxleemed desirable.

I As: is shownin- Fig. 2 of the drawings, the several" uppermost wings 14 are curved difierently; theend wings being vconcaved downwardly and the intermediate wing 14: being convexed' downwardly. In this manner a plurality, of air passagesisprovided which extend through the wing and which-tend to create a-greater lift than is possible with thezconventionalywing: The shape and extent of these several passages is capable of variation, as desired;

The lowermost set of wings 13 is preferably reinforced by a series of pipes 18 or like members which extend longitudinally through the uum and in aiding the lifting capacityof the Wings. i i j The wings elements 13 are, as shown, of such configuration that tangents drawn to the lower surfaces thereof adjacent the trailing ends thereof are substantially parallel to each other and .to the general plane of the wing construction;

'whereby the production of a streamlineair flow is facilitated. V 1

In this manner a highly-eficient and novel wing construction, capable of beingadaptedto the general type of airplane now commonly used, and possessing a much greater lifting power than the conventional airplane wing, is provided.

1 Referring now to the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, these figures disclosethe application of the principle of the present-invention to anairship of the zeppelin type. pelin, as is shown in these figures, is made up of a series of wings 22, consecutively arranged and spaced to provide a plurality of air passages 23 therebetween, similar in shapeand function to passages 19, aforedescribed.

' .The zeppelin;wings 22 are secured together in predetermined relationship, and retained in such position, by braces 24 disposed therebetween, and

by half .or less than half drop forms 25 at the endsthereof (see Figs. 3 and 5). seen by reference to Fig. 3, the half drop forms 25 taper toward each other rearwardly of the craft.

A conventional type of zeppelin cabin 26 is tion that the present invention comprehends a zeppelin type of airship having a greatly augtoon. The wing members 30 are constructed and arranged in a manner similar to the construction and arrangement of the wings 22 hereinbefore described. Passages 31 correspond. in function and effect to passages 19 of thepreviously disclosed modification.

The several wings 30 are preferably connected by an intermediate brace member 32, and the ends thereof are connected by dropforms 33, which may be hollow and airtight in construc- As may be.

tion. The usual means 34 is provided to connectv the pontoon to the airplane thereabove.

As a result of the construction described, the pontoon tends to add to the lifting power of the aircraft when in flight and, if the hydroplane is traveling on the water, the novel wing construc tion increases the buoyancy thereof.

The same principle is shown in Figs. 9 and 10 as applied to a boat 35. Semi-conical members 36 extend from the sides of the boat,-fas shown, and are provided with air inlets 37 leading into The latter are formed by disposing a wing-shaped member 40 centrally'of the outlet end of the air passages 41.

boat is in motion, the 'air enters members 36. through inlets 37 and travels through passages 38 and 39,;which-tends to make the boat much more buoyant than usualas the air is forced but between'the boat and the water.

air passages 38, 39.

While several illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described somewhat in de- When'the' tail, it is not'intended to limit the scope of the;

invention thereby or otherwise than by theiterms of the appendedclaims. For example while drop forms 25 have been shapedto create natural wavesof air, it is clear that theexact shape thereof "maybe widely varied without departing from the spirit ofthis' invention.

What is claimed is:"

1. A wing construction of the character described and adapted to be applied to an airplane; airplane element, pontoon, zeppelin or the-like craft, said wing-construction comprising a plu V rality of consecutively'arranged spaced wing elements disposed in overlapped relationship, whereby an increasedliftingsurface and lifting power. is produced, each said wingelement comprising a supporting beam construction and a wing defining covering thereon,;the upper 'and'l'ower surface of each said element: comprising acon: vex portion, said wing elements defining a plurality ofrelatively downwardly directed elongated passages extending through the construction, said.

passagescomprising enlarged ends 'and'a constricted intermediate portion, the trailing edges of said elements being. so arranged that tangents drawn to the lower sides of said elementsadJa g cent said edges are substantially horizontalgand substantially parallel, whereby streamline air' flow is facilitated. v

2. A wing construction comprising'a plurality of sets of wing elements, said, sets being 1 disposed above each other and the elements of each set also being disposed above each other, the. elements of each set being spaced to define air passages extendin through the construction, the.

elements, said sets being disposed above each other and' the elements of each set, also being disposedabove eachothe f the;upperrnost .set comprising downwardly concavedi end members andan intermediate downwardly convexed me nv ber, theelementsof eachfsetbeing spaced'to through said construction.

4. The construction defined=in clairn 3; 1

downwardly concaved end members being 1 1V- otally movableyand means 'to niove said members.

define a plurality of air passages extending 78 mutually overlapping wing elements, and means to interconnect and retain said elements in pre determined relationship, said means including a plurality of brace members intermediate of said elements and half drop forms at the ends thereof.

6. The construction defined in claim 5, said half drop forms tapering toward each other rearwardly of the aircraft.

7. In an airplane or the like comprising a fuselage, a wing construction comprising aplurality of spaced substantially triangularly shaped wing element supporting braces disposed severally at diiferent distances laterally from the fuselage, and a plurality of spaced wing elements mounted on each of two sides of said triangular braces, said wing elements on one of said sides defining elongated passages of a venturi-like plurality of spaced consecutively arranged wing elements, said elements defining a plurality or substantially downwardly directed air passages therebetween, means interconnecting said elements and including braces and half drop forms, a cabin suspended from said elements and navigating means mounted thereon.

9. A wing construction adaptedto be applied to an airplane, airplane element, zeppelin or the like, said wing construction comprising a plurality of consecutively arranged, spaced wing elements disposed in overlapped relationship, said wing elements being of such configuration as to define elongated passageways,therebetween, the ends of said passageways being enlarged and the intermediate portions being constricted whereby the said passageways are venturi-like in character, and tangents drawn to the lower surfaces of being substantially horizontally directed.

AUGUST BAUER. 

